Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Eclipse 2012 - Introduction

Totality in Turkey - 2006.

The Moon will cover the Sun (completely!) on November 13-14 as seen from Australia - and I'm going there to see it! I will be working for a Danish travel agency called Viktors Farmor (english translation: Victors Grandmother) as I have done several times before. Viktors Farmor arranges journeys worldwide and has total solar eclipses as a part of their repertoire. I have provided astronomical guidance during their trips to Turkey, Siberia, China and India. This time Viktors Farmor has planned what in my opinion is the most ambitious journey yet and this time I'll try to blog about the whole experience.

Besides general work as an assistant tour guide my job includes providing astronomy themed talks, guided tours of the Southern sky and planning activities related to the eclipse event. I started preparations over a year ago by reading up on Australian and Aboriginal astronomy literature. In recent months I have ramped up preparations of equipment that will come along for the entertainment of our guests and for photographing the eclipse.

In recent weeks the pace has quickened and I am now spending all of my spare time preparing - mostly equipment and talks.

In the coming weeks until departure day (November 1st) most of this blog will deal with technical aspects of the equipment. During the journey I'll post daily updates on our progress and weather outlook. Stay tuned, because this will be quite an adventure!